Danielle Pearson

I am originally from Southern California and I completed my BA in Psychology at the University of California, Riverside in 2007.  I went on to study for a BA in Mathematics at the California State University of San Bernardino in 2007-08.  I recently completed my MSc in Psychological Research Methods at the University of Stirling under the supervision of Dr. Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon.

I've completed three courses in American Sign Language (ASL), including a course at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.  I received the Level 1 award in British Sign Language (BSL) in January 2010, and am currently enrolled in a Level 2 BSL course.

Past Research Experience

I first became interested in psychology while working at Key Data Systems, an educational research, data management, and systems development company located in Lake Elsinore, CA.  I worked as a data analyst and was later promoted to a research associate in the Program Evaluations department.

I went on to work as a research assistant in the Conversational Psycholinguistics lab at UC Riverside, where I helped collect data on several projects involving perspective-taking and eyetracking in referential communication tasks.  I also collected and coded data for several projects involving gesture. 

In 2007-08 I worked as a research assistant in the Language and Memory Development lab at CSU San Bernardino.  There I was involved in the data collection on a project involving semantic feedback during word recognition. 

In January 2009 I carried out a research placement at the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Karen Emmorey.  While there I helped code video data for a research project involving bimodal bilingualism, or bilingualism in individuals fluent in both speech and sign.

My MSc dissertation investigated sociocognitive perspective-taking ability differences between hearing individuals and Deaf individuals.  The study used a computerised grid study to assess perspective-taking ability when following directions that involve some linguistic ambiguity.  It was found that in respect to this ability, Deaf and hearing individuals performed equivalently on the task, and no difference in ability was found between native and late signers.

Current Research Interests

My main research interest involves psycholinguist and cognitive studies involving participants fluent in sign language.  My current research focuses on linguistic and cognitive development in deaf children.  Under the supervision of Dr. Martin Doherty, my PhD aims to investigate the link between theory of mind and metalinguistic awareness and will build upon previous studies by including deaf participants.  Deaf signing children who are raised by hearing parents tend to show a delay in the development of theory of mind, possibly due to a lack of linguistic imput regarding mental states at a young age.  While there have been studies showing a relationship between understanding of homonymy, synonymy, and false belief, my research aims to further explore the mechanisms at play in this relationship to investigate whether these abilities share a common conceptual basis that involves the ability to confront different perspectives.

     PSY912 Introductory Psychology II: Lab Demonstrator, Essay Tutor and Marker

     PSY914 Psychological Methods: Seminar Tutor and Marker
     PSY9A3 Social Communication: Essay Tutor and Marker

     PSY9AO Developmental Psychology: Project Supervisor and Marker

     HPSP03 Research Methods I: Practical Demonstrator